Indiana’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed has been awarded the Internet Keep Safe Award for her efforts in keeping kids safe online. Reed was honored during a “Connected and Protected” kids’ assembly on Internet safety at the Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis. The award was presented by Symantec, the well-knownleader in Internet security, and The Internet Keep Safe Coalition (http://www.iKeepSafe.org ).

    Reed has championed Internet safety issues with parents and teachers to safeguard children from the growing threat of Internet predators, as Superintendent of Public Instruction. She has also worked with iKeepSafe to offer copies of the children’s book and animated film, “Faux Paw’s Internet Adventures,” to every public elementary school and library in Indiana. The Faux Paw ™ story teaches children in a fun, non-threatening way the basics of Internet safety.

    The big company and the coalition ,Symantec and iKeepSafe, will both continue the nationwide “Norton Connected and Protected Family Safety Initiative” throughout the summer by visiting schools, camps and community centers nationwide. In this time, the companies will explore the role the Internet and other technologies play in children’s personal, school and family lives, including:

What Web sites children are really visiting.
Who really knows more about the Internet - parents or kids?
How children use the Internet.
What information children are sharing on social networking sites.
What children and parents fear about the Internet.

    Well-done videos and interactive games will guide them through the process of dealing with cyber predators, troubling online situations, what to do during a computer crash, how to protect online music, games and more. How to reveal Internet threats for teens and tweens, including how to spot a cyber threat and deal with it before it becomes a problem. A parent station gives parents insight into the most popular Internet trends for kids. Guides teach parents about social networking sites like MySpace and Friendster and alert them about the risks they pose to kids online. There are also stations designed to open dialogue between kids and parents about issues of Internet safety.

    Even more, a cyber security story station lets users record their tales of Internet security and how they deal with it. Users can watch other’s videos and learn how people just like them have dealt with online fraud, identity theft and more. Families can go to the the Norton Family Resource Center Web site (http://www.norton.com/familyresource) to get important information on Internet safety and see when the “Norton Connected and Protected Mobile Tour” will come to their town.